Chelsea returned to second in the Premiership after hammering Portsmouth 5-0 at Fratton Park, but top four hopefuls Aston Villa and Manchester City both failed to win. An horrendous error by Portsmouth keeper David James gifted Didier Drogba a simple opening goal.
Pompey suffered further injustice as Florent Malouda was only booked after a clash with Ricardo Rocha which saw the defender stretchered off with a suspected fractured cheekbone.
The body count continued when the Blues Daniel Sturridge left Tommy Smith with a broken and bloodied nose with another stray elbow, with both players heading to hospital at half time.
Malouda then scored two quick goals after the break to seal the points.
But Portsmouth's misery was to continue as Drogba grabbed his second of the night and Frank Lampard added a fifth late on.
Manchester City suffered their first home defeat of the season as Everton dealt a significant blow to Roberto Mancini's top-four ambitions.
The Toffees took the lead just after the half hour with a well worked free kick being headed home by Tim Cahill.
And Everton clinched the points with five minutes remaining when Arteta finished off a quick break.
Managers Roberto Mancini and his Everton counterpart David Moyes both ended the evening in the stands after the Italian clashed with the Scot over returning the ball.
Aston Villa's UEFA Champions League bid also suffered a setback as they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Sunderland.
The Black Cats took the lead in the 22nd through Frazier Campbell but Villa responded almost immediately as John Carew restored parity.
Blackburn took all three points at Ewood Park in a 2-1 win over visitors Birmingham and virtually assured their Premiership survival.
Birmingham old boy David Dunn fired Rovers into the lead with just five minutes gone with keeper Joe Hart looking at fault.
Blues were level early in the second period when James McFadden curled home a free-kick from the edge of the box, this time Rovers stopper Jason Brown looked suspect on his positioning.
But Blackburn maintained their impressive home record when Dunn was allowed to head home from practically on the line, with Hart punching thin air at his near post.
